Conquista 11 - Print Edition

Regular price
£12

There’s wit. There’s wisdom. There’s spectacular imagery. There’s in-depth reporting and analysis from all over cycling’s map, and all parts of its history, present and future. Issue 11 is the best Conquista there’s ever been.

Paris-Roubaix, by Dan Monaghan

2016 provided one of the greatest ever editions of Paris-Roubaix. Katusha’s Alexander Porsev crashed, splitting the peloton and leaving Sagan & Cancellara in the following group. With his team leader Tom Boonen in the front group, Tony Martin rode on the front for 30km to render the gap unbridgeable. Then in the velodrome, an exhausted Boonen looked over his shoulder . . . to see Mat Hayman looking straight back at him. Oh, and Fabian Cancellara bade an emotional farewell to the scene of his greatest triumphs.

Dan Monaghan was on hand to capture all the action and atmosphere in a stunning gallery, I RBX. And who doesn’t?

HTC-Highroad, by Suze Clemitson

“They suddenly go from being a bunch of aged, overpaid, underachievers, to the best squad in the world. Cav was winning races for fun, and he was not alone in that. All the planets seemed to align and they were fearsome. “

How did Bob Stapleton create the wildly successful HTC-Highroad from the wreckage of T-Mobile – and why did the "team of the century" collapse and disappear without warning? Suze Clemitson investigates in HTC-Highroad - The Last Rites.

Summer: The High Point, by Shane Stokes

Some riders show great early promise, but never fulfil it. Others, like Peter Sagan and Fabian Cancellara, develop lengthy successful careers – in spite of injury, loss of form, disappointing results and the myriad other challenges offered by the unpredictable life of a WorldTour professional. What makes the difference? Is it physical, psychological . . . or what?

In the latest in his series on the Seasons of a Pro Career, Shane Stokes arrives at Summer: The High Point.

Tour de Yorkshire, by Chris Auld

The Tour de Yorkshire has rapidly established itself as one of best events on the calendar, popular with public and riders alike.

Photographer Chris Auld criss-crossed the north of England in pursuit of the peloton, fighting his way through the crowds to bring us some stunning imagery in his Tour de Yorkshire Gallery.

Tour de Suisse, by Holly Blades

The Tour de Suisse is one of those races that tends to get overlooked, considered as merely a warm-up event for the Tour de France – and not even the main warm-up event, either. But it has a character and rich history all its own. What’s more, a new agreement between organisers InfrontRingier and teams’ representative Velon means this year’s race will offer a whole new approach to promoting and covering road cycling. The scenery’s not bad, either.

Holly Blades summons her considerable powers of scholarship to prove it once and for all . . . Tour de Suisse: Not Just a Warm-Up

Inside Track, by Matthew Bailey & Brian Hodes

“As track cycling’s elite prepare for the Rio Olympics, it’s hard not to be reminded of an old joke Brazilians tell about their country’s perennially underexploited potential. Brazil, they say, is the country of tomorrow: and it always will be. For a long time, something similar seemed to be true of track cycling.”

But now, something’s up. The UK’s Revolution Series has joined forces with the WorldTour’s Velon to bring stars of the road back to the track. The World Cycling League is launched in the US. And the Six Day London expands its empire by taking over the Berlin Sechstagerennen.

Shane “Perko” Perkins is one of the great all-round track sprinters. We sat down with him to talk about his prospects for the Rio Olympics, his plans for the rest of 2016, and his involvement in the unique Dream Seeker project, which aims at future and current Olympic glory while supporting the victims of Fukushima.

Read our interview with Shane Perkins: Keirin King

Mount Etna - Isadore Rides Series

Hands up – who has ridden up a volcano? No one?

Find out about the spectacular routes up Mount Etna in the latest in our Isadore Rides Series.

Alan Ramsbottom, by Steve Ramsey

“Bahamontes and Anquetil and Poulidor and I were really going well . . . ” It sounds even better in a Lancashire accent.

Moving to France after inexplicably missing out on selection to the 1960s Olympics . . . facing jealous teammates after winning race after race . . . riding to a glorious sixteenth place in the 1963 Tour de France . . . then being cheated out of his spot on the team for the next year’s grand boucle . . . Alan Ramsbottom sounds like a character from a 1950s boy’s comic book: cycling’s answer to Alf Tupper, or The Mighty Wilson.

But he’s real all right, and Steve Ramsey met him to get the full astonishing and unknown story of Alan Ramsbottom: The Lancashire Coppi.